Judah is 13 weeks now, and obviously its too early to do anything. However every vet I've talked to has just been really pushy about me getting him fixed because I don't want to breed him because he's not papered at all.

How necessary is it to get a dog neutered if you don't plan on breeding? Does it really lower chances of male cancer like vets say? I've been told it stunts their growth if done in the time frame most vets suggest (6-8 months from what i've been told) and I've also read that male shepherds tend to stay lanky if neutered too early.

We'll be doing quite a bit of trail running and hopefully depending on where we go, if allowed he will go off leash - but I've heard that intact males tend to run more, like chasing females and such. I can't imagine Judah doing this because he's like velcro on me...and the females I grew up with were the same way. But then again I've only had females, and hormones do crazy things to dogs.

I also have noticed, however it could just be coincidence, that neutered males tend to be a bit more sluggish and not really engaging in self play and romping. I would like to assume that if we keep an active lifestyle, that it wont make a difference. But I want to make sure that I wont lower his chances of enjoying trail running and skijoring when the time comes for those things.

I'm completely new to male german shepherds, I've only ever had females and the last male dog my family had was a siberian husky that my parents had before I was born/early in my life, and a springer spaniel that my dad used to hunt, both were intact due to having good pedigrees.

Wow...Thank you for the two links.....I had planned to neuter my puppy in a couple of months and it looks like I might need to rethink that and do some more research...might not be a good idea after all.

I had not planned to neuter my boy, I want to keep him intact.
A friend of mine has an intact male also and he's not long turned three. He is the sweetest, most goofiest dog I've ever met and he's not overweight.

__________________
Mum to 6 year old GSD Rescue Miss Jess and 8 month old GSD Loki

Yeah I initially was like "oh of course I'll get him fixed" but the more I thought about it, and observed all the male dogs that my family owns who are fixed vs not fixed, I realized I should probably research it more. My aunt's golden is probably twice what he should weigh, and my cousin's husky is gaining weight now.. However my dad's cousin's intact lab, and various other hunting dogs which are intact are all muscular and a lot healthier and happier looking.

The vet I brought Judah to initially told me "He'll listen better if you get him fixed" and I was like "Oh see I know thats a load of crap..." she was caught off guard but since then I have decided because of some things she told me, and what I've learned about her since going, that I wont be returning to her when we move up there.

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